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A 101-carat colourless diamond the size of a squash ball sold for a record $HK46.2 million ($6 million) at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong, a radio report said today.
The gem, the biggest colourless diamond ever sold in Asia and one of only three colourless diamonds over 100 carats ever sold, was bought by a private buyer on Wednesday.
Government-run radio station RTHK said today the buyer’s identity was not being revealed but he would have the option to name the diamond, the most expensive single piece of jewellery sold in Asia.
Set in a tiara, it was the biggest colourless diamond to come up for auction anywhere in the world for 18 years, Christie’s said.
Diamond prices have boomed in recent years partly because of the economic slowdown, with new buyers from Russia, India and Asia pushing auction prices higher.
I had to let out a chuckle today when I was reading the Jewelry Insider blog, a site that takes a look at the fashion side of the jewelry business.
The blogger was sharing her insights regarding the U.S. Open (tennis) Tournament which is now taking place in New York City. As she noted, many of the tennis stars are fond of showing off some bling while they’re playing, recalling an incident in 2005 where Serena Williams dropped one of her $40,000 diamond chandelier earrings in the middle of her 6-1, 6-3 dispatching of Taiwan’s Yung-Jan Chan.
Hit It With Diamonds!
This year, Serena has been outdone by upstart teen tennis sensation Asia Muhammad who decided to adorn her pink tennis racquet with a diamond. That’s right, a diamond! Thanks to the work of Las Vegas jeweler Michael E. Minden, Asia’s racquet (pictured) has been custom fitted with 1.00ctw of VS quality pave set diamonds in 2 letter A’s which can be found just above her grip.
“This is the first time I’ve actually put diamonds on a piece of athletic equipment,” notes Minden. “However, we came up with a special process to affix it to the racquet, with a special technology to transfer the letters to a new racquet when Asia wears out the first one. The same diamonds can be added to a golf club, and makes a very exclusive gift for any exceptional athlete in most any sport.”
Let’s Play Tennis!
The price for each letter? A cool $1750 which includes installation. Tennis, anyone?
Iced diamonds, the perfect gift for those times when you just cannot afford to give her your very best!
You’re in love and you want to seal your relationship with a diamond solitaire engagement ring. However, you have a huge problem — you’re flat broke. So, instead of getting her an expensive ring, you do the next best thing: you take a look at cubic zirconia jewelry and realize you cannot even afford the faux diamond either.
What is an impoverished guy to do?!
Well, if you have some imagination and she has a sense of humor, why not give her lots of diamonds — even a glass full — and win her heart that way?
Novelty retailer Fred and Friends has the exact item you need, a diamond making device that uses an important ingredient — water! That’s right, these diamonds are made of 100% H2O, the most abundant molecule on the face of the earth.
Just fill up the flexible tray with water (or your favorite liquid), stick the tray in the freezer, and hours later six three dimensional diamond shaped “cool jewels” are ready for sharing. Place them in a glass and serve them to her and she’ll have more diamonds from you than she can imagine.
The cost? About one dollar per diamond or $6 for the tray when purchased from Amazon or other online retailer. You won’t be able to turn the iced diamonds into an engagement ring with sidestones, but you can spread some cheer and perhaps buy enough time to save up your money to purchase the real thing.
Cheers!
If you are in the market for loose diamonds, a diamond ring, diamond pendant or any other piece of jewelry containing diamonds, then selecting the right diamond will ensure that you are paying a reasonable price for your purchase. Before you buy a diamond, there are some things you need to keep in mind when doing your search:
The 4Cs – Carat, color, clarity and cut are what is known as the “4Cs” of diamonds. Decide which ones are most important to you and make your purchase decision based on that determination. A fifth “C” is cost, which will ultimately determine what you are willing to pay for any given diamond.
Certificate, Please – Low cost diamonds are available for purchase, but they aren’t worth considering if they don’t have an accompanying certificate from the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) or the American Gem Society (A.G.S.). A certificate acts a “grading report” for each diamond (as in the case of the G.I.A.) where 3-6 gemologists will review each diamond independently and assign a final grade to it. Diamonds sold without certification are considered suspect and should be avoided.
Shop Around – Whether purchasing your diamonds online or at your local Kay Jewelers or other mall retailer, compare diamonds, prices, service, and more from retailer to retailer. Of course, you cannot touch or wear an online jeweler’s diamond ring in advance of your purchase, but you should familiarize yourself with the market by visiting your Macy’s, Fortunoff or other fine jeweler first. Compare your mall retailer with a reputable online retailer’s diamonds and once you see the price differential, guess where you’ll be buying your jewelry from now on? Online!
Let’s Rap! – No I don’t mean urban music, rather familiarize yourself with the Rapaport Diamond Report, which lists wholesale diamond prices for New York. Why New York? Because, that city is the nerve center for diamond pricing world-wide. “The Rap” is the leading source of diamond pricing and market information developed for the diamond industry. It is accepted as the international standard used to establish prices in all the major cutting centers and dealer markets. The average consumer may not be all that interested in what Rapaport has to say, but if you are investing in diamonds you should definitely subscribe.
Returns, Shipping, Guaranty, Etc. – If you buy a diamond engagement ring what is the retailer’s return policy? 30 days is reasonable in this industry. If buying an engagement ring online, who pays shipping and is it insured? What other guaranty or warranty is offered? Of course, when buying online being able to pick up a phone and chat with a representative is reassuring as well as operating from a secured internet site that protects your personal financial information is essential.
The more you learn about diamonds before your purchase one, the better for your wallet. Then again, if you choose a diamond engagement ring without considering her personal tastes then everything I said is moot. In that case, start over again and find out what type of diamond she really wants and budget yourself accordingly.
When you die, your body will either be planted in the earth, placed in a mausoleum, cremated, or perhaps preserved cryogenically. For some people their fate will be much different than that: their ashes will be transformed into diamonds. Yes, thanks to a process developed by a Swiss company, Algordanza, ashes can be turned into something beautiful and worn by loved ones.
At Algordanza’s laboratory, more than one dozen machines run constantly turning ashes into beauty. Potassium and calcium, which makes up some 85% of the ashes, are first separated from the carbon. Then the carbon is subjected to high heat and tremendous pressure, a process which compresses the remains into graphite, a carbon allotrope, or a different form of carbon. The complete transformation process is lengthy, some six to eight weeks in all, but when complete a crude diamond is the result, ready for polishing and cutting.
Diamonds Vary In Color
Since it only takes approximately 500 grams of ashes to make a diamond, not all ashes are needed as the average body leaves behind between 2.5 and 3 kg of ashes. The color of the diamond varies from dark blue to almost white, a difference one Algordanza representative says is a reflection of the decedent’s personality.
The company receives 40 to 50 commissions monthly and at a cost ranging from approximately US$4400 to US$16700, is actually cheaper than what a burial costs in Germany: US$19,000. The price differential is based on the size of the resultant diamond which can range from 0.25 to 1 carat. The cost for setting the diamond is extra.
The Booming “Life Gem” Movement
Since its founding in 2004, Algordanza has gone international and now has twenty locations worldwide. Other companies are now providing the same type of service (called life gems) in Russia, the US, Spain, and the Ukraine. China and India are considered to be strong future markets while Japan provides the largest number of customers for Algordanza with two to four urns arriving daily.
So, if death comes knocking today will you be ready? Regardless, your survivors may decide to keep you around forever by turning your ashes into something beautiful if not a little bit cryptic.
Every Christmas, Victoria’s Secret comes out with a one-of-a-kind, diamond-encrusted bra that is priced in the millions of dollars. The most expensive one designed so far was $12.5 million, so it seems that this year’s model is practically a bargain at only $5 million. Traditionally, these slightly extravagant underclothes are made with perfect clear diamonds, so American jewelry designer Martin Katz decided to think outside the box and make skivvies out of perfect black diamonds instead.
Made with over 3,900 gems, the “Black Diamond Fantasy Miracle Bra” consists of over 3,600 black diamonds, 117 certified 1-carat clear diamond rounds, and 34 rubies. It also features, as a centerpiece—or bullseye—two black diamond drops totaling 100 carats. In case that isn’t incentive enough to own this, it is also a “Miracle Bra”, a specific style of support garment that is designed for ‘maximum cleavage enhancement’ (read: raises your chest to chin-level). Since the previous diamond-laden underthings were only regular precious-gem bras, this one is more than a way to keep the girls up. It is an experience. You, too, can look like Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima for the low price of $5,000,000 (or, in layman’s terms, 81 years of work for the average American).
Adriana Lima, the freakishly beautiful Victoria’s Secret Angel, will be showing the black diamond bra in the annually- televised Christmas runway show on December 3. She said: “I’m can’t wait to walk down the runway in this at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” (UPI). We forgive her the grammatical mistake because a: she is not a native English-speaker, and b: no one is really listening when she talks, anyway. Until then, pictures of this gemstone/lingerie masterpiece can be seen in the Victoria’s Secret holiday catalogue, found on the coffee tables of women and in the bathrooms of men all over the country.
On a related note, Lima herself got quite a birthday present this year from her boyfriend, Memphis Grizzlies guard Marko Jaric: an engagement ring. They plan to marry in Brazil in June of 2009. Lima, a model since age 15, is famous not only for her beauty, but for her devotion to the Catholic beliefs on which she was raised. According to style.com, she has said that “Sex is for marriage”, and will wait to experience it until she has a wedding ring. Of course, that has only acted as catnip to countless male suitors, including Lenny Kravitz and various members of royalty. Instead, it was an odd-looking Serb who won her heart.
And he didn’t have to buy her a $5 million bra either…
After attending one lavish wedding, you may have had gotten an inkling that marriage is big business in America. That isn’t hard to surmise given that most wedding ceremonies, receptions, and honeymoons cost couples tens of thousands of dollars.
What you may not have known is that the contribution to the economy is $73 billion annually. You read that right — marriage is an industry that does its part to fuel the national economy.
Leading the way, of course, are Hollywood celebrities and other well-heeled folks who think nothing of spending a few million dollars to hold the party to end all parties. At least until their marriage ends and they nab a new flame. And then, the next wedding party is held which clearly “outperforms” all earlier nuptials.
Conde Nast Bridal Media’s most recently published American Wedding Study (2006) revealed several points about the way that we marry:
- 2.3 million couples marry each year.
- The average wedding costs $27,852, a 48% increase over 1999, when all expense are included such as the reception, wedding rings, dresses, flowers and photography. The cost for outfitting the entire bridal party runs between $4000 and $6000.
- Average cost for a reception is $9,573 with the average reception size 180 people.
- Destination weddings are becoming much more common with a full 16% of couples electing to marry where they plan to honeymoon. Favorite destination venues include popular Caribbean spot which area also the most popular honeymoon destinations for couples who marry in the states.
So guys, when she says “yes” to your marriage proposal, make sure that her parents will pay for everything. Otherwise, hold onto your wallet and hope that bridezilla’s big day is a happy one.
You know things are bad when the used engagement rings have left the pennysaver and wound up posted on the side of a telephone pole.
Good luck buddy!
If you don’t look like your dog or cat, now you can dress alike. At least when it comes to wearing matching jewelry.
According to an article published by The Israeli Diamond Industry in their Diamond News section, a British jeweler’s design has gone to the dogs. Literally!
Jari has the distinction of being the only company in Great Britain that designs jewelry for pets using the same precious metals and stones for canine or feline that their owners wear.
Every Jari piece is customized to provide the same styling and look of the owner’s piece, employing current fashion trends and elegance.
The jeweler is currently scouting Britain for the perfect cat or dog who will model the company’s jewelry line (e.g., £10,000 diamond studded collarettes), with the winner receiving a “12 month modeling contract worth up to a 4 figure sum plus portraits of their shoots for their modeling portfolio.” In addition to buying an exquisite work of art, owners have the opportunity to have a portrait of their bedecked pet taken by a renowned international photographer.
A flying thief made off with Julia Boaler’s diamond engagement ring three years ago. Recently, the stole gemstone was recovered, but the thief was no where to be found.
The news doesn’t get much stranger then this.
Julia Boaler was taking a shower in her home three years ago, deciding to leave the bathroom window open to let out some steam. Little did she know that more then hot air would leave her bathroom that day as her diamond engagement ring, valued at more than 5000 British Pounds (approximately US$8874), would disappear. As Julia recalls, she left the ring near the open window, a shiny and appealing target for some quick working thief.
Yes, a magpie made off with her ring, but that fact wasn’t known until recently. After accusing a window washer of making off with the ring and then tearing up the bathroom to search for her prized possession, Julia had given up hope that the ring would ever be found.
Now a mother with a toddler and still planning to be married, Julia received the surprise of her life recently when she asked her fiance, Justin, to do some gardening. Besides pulling out weeds and spreading grass seed, Justin decided to prune their big oak tree when he noticed it — an old magpie nest with a shiny object glimmering from inside.
It was Julia’s diamond engagement ring.
Magpies are noted for being attracted to shiny objects and one must have seen her diamond sparkler shining inside the bathroom when it swooped in, picked it up, and flew to the nest where it resided for the next three years.
As for the offender? No magpie has been seen since and police aren’t likely to get involved. Julia is simply glad to have her ring back thanks to Justin’s pruning skills.
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